What types of questions can be answered behaviorally?
Any non-technical question can, and often should, be answered behaviorally. Examples:
- questions starting with “Tell me about a time when you… [e.g. failed, dealt with conflict, faced a challenge]”.
- Introductory / general questions; for example: Tell me about yourself, Why you, why this company, why this role; what’s your weakness
- Open ended questions: how do you [prioritize, learn, help people develop their careers etc..]
- Hypothetical questions: how would you deal with [conflict inside your team, ambiguity etc.. ]
Key behaviors:
- Conflict & Influence
- Prioritization & Speed
- Failure Questions
- Vision / Strategic Thinking
- Results / Outcome Orientation
- Customer Obsession
- Elevator pitch. Why this company.
- Strength and weakness
- .. and more
This training program, at its core, is a bunch of videos designed to help you excel in behavioral interviews. Over time, more features were added:
- Stories dashboard: a place where you can add your stories in a structured format, filter them by behavior, score etc..
- Ability to evaluate your stories using AI reports on things such as behavioral fit, length, strength etc..
- Quizzes to test your knowledge while (or after) going through the videos; or quizzes to help you improve your listening skills
- The script of the videos (text) in each section as a recap.
- New sections such as employer, and candidate interviewing techniques
- More (notable) examples from exceptional people are constantly added
- Sections are also constantly being adjusted to both add new trends and trimmed to save you time
- Flexible access (6, 12 months or unlimited)
Any role
First, throughout my career, I've worked in both technical and non-technical roles.
Second. My experience coaching people for all major job categories has taught me an important lesson: anyone applying for such jobs should be able to qualify if an answer, including its depth, is for them. Some stories will be for mid-level roles while others will be for principal (advisory) roles, while others will be for sales.
While it is true that many of these stories are from IT, I picked examples from a variety of industries and roles.
Why buy this training?
This content is biased towards benefiting the candidate, on what connects with success in job interviews.
- Minimize risk of surprise by covering a broad range of behaviors and scenarios, specific to behavioral interviews.
- Examples from exceptional candidates who succeeded in their careers. Improve your listening skills through a variety of examples & quizzes
- AI done right; who passes interviews using AI? Very few people do; many more fail them because of AI; others capitalize on hooking you up on AI features which actually degrade your performance
- Time is something most candidates don’t have; this is why the training has been trimmed from 9 to 6 to 3 hours (over 5 years)
- Engagement triggers via regular YouTube videos
TikTok’s Leadership Principles mapped to key sections in the training program
Note: the second half of this list is for Manager level roles, while the first part perfectly applies for Individual Contributor roles. (similar Leadership Principles apply to many other high performing companies)
- Be mission and vision driven
- Think big, bold and ambitiously to inspire others in pursuit of our mission.
- Always keep our overall vision and the long-term outcomes in mind when developing strategies. Prioritize innovative and meaningful breakthroughs.
Sections in the training program: Vision & Strategic Thinking, Prioritization & Speed
- Understand the fundamentals to develop sound judgement
- Get to the root of problems and seek critical improvement.
- Be clear and firm when developing conclusions. Steer away from ambiguity.
Carefully and thoughtfully consider feedback and different viewpoints, but do not reflexively change your judgment without a solid case.
Sections in the training program: Dealing with ambiguity (through Deep Dives) - Section 1, Section 2
- Focus on actual impact
- Put users first and prioritize user feedback. Focus on real impact.
- Be practical and communicate in plain language. Avoid embellishing achievements, using abstract expressions or jargon, or letting style substitute for substance.
Section in the training program: Deliver Results
- Small ego, big picture
- Avoid titles or honorifics, and don't focus on hierarchy. Prioritize business needs and show flexibility in reporting lines.
- Think beyond your role. Take ownership in your scope of work while keeping the bigger picture in mind.
- Leadership is a responsibility, not a privilege. Focus on impact, and continue to demand more of yourself as you take on more senior roles.
Sections in the training program: Vision & Strategic Thinking, Learning & Innovation
- Leverage collective wisdom
- Provide sufficient context to partners and team members, and ensure efficient information sharing.
- Encourage participation from everyone to develop better ideas.
Sections in the training program: Influence & Conflict (section 1, section 2)
- Lead by example
- Be a role model of ByteStyle and be responsible for building team culture.
- Be fair and trustworthy. Uphold high ethical standards. Create a work environment that promotes integrity.
The training program encourages you to reason by analogy and sell the best version of yourself (including your strengths & weakness). Leadership is the backbone of this exercise.
- Lead people based on their qualities
- Foster the growth of team members
- Manage with firm principles
- Set ambitious and clear goals
- Be resilient and achieve results
Sections in the training program with references to Manager Level Roles: Conflict & Influence, Vision & Strategic Thinking, Deliver Results;
Manager Level Roles: a great variety of interview questions for manager level roles available throughout the training program.
Are TikTok’s interviews for technical roles also behavioral? Yes. Any high performing company uses behavioral interviews extensively. Furthermore, on their career page, the video tips for technical roles advise you to show your personality & “be yourself” (e.g. how do you handle conflict? tough feedback from your manager?). Clarity of thought is equally important during behavioral interviews, often showcased by using the STAR format.